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nimrod

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Nimrod

English

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Etymology

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In most English-speaking countries, Nimrod is used to denote a hunter or warrior, because the biblical Nimrod is described as "a mighty hunter". In American English, however, the term has acquired a derogatory meaning of "idiot"; there are various hypotheses as to why. Most examples suggest an intermediate form where Nimrod is used deliberately to mock a hunter. Whether this usage was widespread, or how it influenced the final meaning where the hunter connotation is unintended, might be beyond reach.

Noun

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nimrod (plural nimrods)

  1. (chiefly US, informal, derogatory) A foolish person; an idiot.
    Synonyms: doofus, fathead; see also Thesaurus:idiot
    Don't stick your fingers in the fan, you nimrod!
    • 1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Vincent (John Travolta):
      Jules, if you give this nimrod fifteen hundred bucks, I'm gonna shoot 'em on general principle.
    • 2023 July 27, Max Brockman & Shana Gohd, “The Campaign” (17:54 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows[4], season 5, episode 4, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):
      “I can't keep doing this. Uh, I can't keep pretending to be Mr. Charisma to all these nimrods. It's awful.” “But the Energy Vampire Council said we have to win, or else.” [exhales] “No. No. No. Enough. It ends now.”

References

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  1. ^ “Nimrod”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language[1], Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000, archived from the original on 25 January 2007
  2. ^ Steinbeck, John (1962) Travels with Charley: In Search of America[2], 1997 edition, Penguin, →ISBN, page 45
  3. ^ “Nimrod, n.”, in Oxford English Dictionary[3], Oxford University Press, 2007
  4. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/nimrod-2016-02-17
  • nimrod”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

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